9-23-2011 - Private Ponds

Since the weather has been getting gradually cooler, I've slowed down a bit on fishing because I'm stuck in the time period where the bass, carp, drum, panfish, etc. start to slow down a bit and the pike haven't started up heavy yet. I used to fill this gap by chasing salmon up in Michigan, but I'm not going this year. That's not to say that the fish don't bite though. I killed some time yesterday chasing largemouth bass and bluegill at the ponds yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours. It turns out the mini-clousers colored like emerald shiners bring out the cannibalistic behavior in bass. While in the water, the olive top turns darker and when combined with the flash and white belly, it makes the fly appear very similar to bass fry. I caught a largemouth bass about two feet from me in the first thirty seconds of fishing. I ended the day with six fish under my belt, so I was pleased to not walk away empty-handed. Here's some pictures for all of you.

A quick update.

I just wanted to let the readers here know that the blog is now ad-free and now there's a share button in the upper right corner of the blog. Getting rid of the ads is something I've been meaning to do for some time now. I plan on getting out very soon, so be on the lookout for more stories and pictures.

9-13-2011 - Auglaize River

I spent some time at the vise a couple of nights ago whipping up some mini-clouser flies that resemble emerald shiners. I wanted to test them out, so I headed out to the Auglaize River. I learned my lesson from last time and packed my 6 weight as well as my 8 weight. Once again, I ended up getting into a mess of crappie. I landed nearly twenty of them. I also caught a couple of freshwater drum and a small largemouth bass as well. I've caught many smallmouth bass from the river, but this is probably my third or fourth largemouth from there. Here'e a few pictures! Tight lines!

Not to mention, I also snagged a few shiners. You know you've got a winning combination when you snag baitfish trying to school up with your fly!

A nice-sized Auglaize River crappie.

Freshwater Drum from the Auglaize River.

Largemouth Bass

A nice-sized Freshwater Drum.

9-9-2011 - Auglaize River

Autumn is approaching fast and I'll be perfectly honest with you, it's my favorite season of the year. I love the scenery as the leaves change, drinking apple cider, eating pumpkin pie, and fly fishing in the fall. In my area, this is some of the best fishing of the year. The waters cool down and the fish start to fatten up for winter. Some of the fish that prefer cooler water start to become active as well, and that's what happened today.

We had some pretty typical fall weather for a couple of days here in Northwest Ohio. It rained and we had temps in the high 60's/low 70's. I really wanted to get out today because I had a good hunch that the fish would be pretty active because the cold rain helped raise the river and cool it down as well, providing some good-quality oxygenated water. I grabbed the trusty 8 weight and went out to the Auglaize River to see if my hunch paid off. I noticed right off the bat that the shiners and shad were very active, which was a good sign! I shared the river today with a very nice gentleman who was very informative and very friendly. It sure makes fishing much more fun when you're sharing the river with nice folks. I noticed that there were fish busting the minnows just like striped bass, but my brain didn't compute what they were at first. Of course I didn't happen to have any "minnow-like" flies with me. I only had my Mud Bugs because I was after carp and catfish. I made a couple of casts with a peacock black Mud Bug and immediately caught two freshwater drum. However, these were not the fish actively attacking the minnows. After a few more casts, and a few more fly changes, I started getting hits on my UV black Mud Bug. I landed the first fish after two more casts and discovered the mystery fish. They were crappie! Lots of crappie! I started catching them right and left and the old fly rod was keeping pace with the gentleman using a spinning rod. I lost count after catching 30 of them. Many were nice sized as well. (7-11 inch range.) I also did manage to hook a carp, but he spit out the hook and I was a little disappointed. I also had the biggest channel catfish I've ever seen on the end of my line, but he spit the hook as well. I swear his head was as big as my arm.

All in all, it was a very good day. I don't believe I've ever caught that many crappie before in my life. I wish I would have brought my 6 weight this time though because an 8 weight is a bit overkill for crappie.

I'll leave you with some pictures from the day.

Auglaize River freshwater drum

Typical Auglaize River crappie

I'm still a little stumped over this one. I'm not quite sure how I was able to snag a shad.

One of my warmwater fly boxes...

Here's a quick shout out to some of my pals who wanted to see one of my fly boxes, so here you go guys!

(Notice the chewed up Dubbin' Craws? What happened? Catfish happened.)

The things we do for what we love to do.....

Today was an exciting day to say the least. It was filled with some intense moments, but it still felt good to go out and cast a fly line. I just wish things could have gone a little better....

Before leaving, I had checked the radar and there was once small cell over the county I live in. I was going to take a trip up to a new wildlife area (New to me.) one county north of where I'm at. The weather radar indicated that the storm cell was not very intense and it was not where I would be fishing. I just had to drive through it. No problem. Wow, I was wrong. When I drove about 8 miles outside of town, it started raining pretty hard and I decided to keep on truckin'. Well, I was over halfway to my destination when it started pouring. Then, it started hailing. Here's the icing on the cake though. There was a tornado/funnel cloud about 200-250 yards away from me and I had nowhere to go. I've seen a couple of them in my life and I knew they weren't just any old clouds when I seen dirt start swirling around in a field! After narrowly escaping the storm, the weather turned nice and I arrived in one piece at my destination.

I was fishing the St. Joseph River in Williams County, Ohio. It's a nice river to fly fish. Lots of creek chubs, rock bass, smallies, cats, carp, and other assorted fish that will put a bend in a fly rod. It would be perfect for canoeing or kayaking because casting from the bank can be difficult. It's mostly roll casting territory and there's only so much I can do with a weight forward fly line. After eating up most of my tippet and leader changing flies, I decided to try one of the state lakes in the area. The St. Joe wasn't giving up any fish. It may have been the water temp, it may have been the weather in the area, or it could have been any of the other 500 million reasons fish just will not bite.

To top the day off, I climbed all the way up a steep hill, then slipped and rolled head-over-heels down a 20 foot hill covered in poison ivy and sawgrass. I managed to get up pretty quickly but I was still a little dazed from my tumble. I was pretty sore and quite flustered. I decided that enough was enough and I was going to catch a fish. I hobbled over to the state lake and caught a teeny bass and a small bluegill.

For future reference, I do not plan on going there anytime soon. I'll stick with my close to home spots that are easy to access and produce fish.

My reward.

The Fly Tying Tree

About a week ago, I received a product from a gentleman on one of the outdoor forums I frequent. The product is called the Fly Tying Tree and it's designed to help keep tools and materials close at hand when you're tying. The Fly Tying Tree is simply awesome. If you're like me, your desk is a disaster area when you go into tying mode. The 'Tree fits easily onto your vice and really does a fantastic job. Some folks might argue that there's already things out there to hold your tools and such. True, there are. But, none compare to the Fly Tying Tree. The 'Tree is much more aesthetically pleasing than a block of foam with holes drilled in it. It's made out of Pennsylvania Cherry wood. Believe me, this thing is good looking! Plus, it's extremely functional. Meaning, it does what it's made for. Very well. It has a place for almost anything you can think of, it takes up very little space, and it looks good! I am NOT a paid spokesperson or anything like that. I just really enjoy a well-made product and it gets two thumbs up from Auglaize Fly Shop!

If you're interested, contact Kip at:

warmtraxs@yahoo.com